OAU students in dilemma as lecturers split over ASUU strike

OAU students in dilemma as lecturers split over ASUU strike

While ASUU asks the students to go home, another group of lecturers ask the students should stay on campus to receive lectures.

While public university undergraduates have returned home due to ASUU strike, students of Obafemi Awolowo University are in dilemma are in a dilemma as their lecturers split over the strike.

The ASUU chairman, OAU chapter, Adeola Egbedokun while addressing journalist on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, maintained that the university would have to join the strike.

He said “The strike is total. No teaching, no exam, no statutory functions. We are not doing anything except observation of the strike.”

Egbedokun according to Premium Times also asked students of the institution to go home safely.

“We hereby tell our students that we love them and we don’t want to lose any of them at the cause of anything that may happen during the industrial action.”

However, a group of lecturers under the banner, Congress of Nigerian Universities Academic (CONUA) said they would continue the running of day to day activities in the school.

Niyi Sunmonu, the chairman of CONUA said “We can’t generally be part of what we are not privy to. We were not taken into consideration, we were (not) approached on the issue. So, we can’t be part of the strike. Our members still respect statutory duties”.

An anonymous student of the institution who spoke to Pulse about the school's stance on ASUU strike said the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Eyitope Ogunmodede too does not want the university to join ASUU strike. He added that the lecturers under CONUA banners are close to the VC chancellor.

''The ASUU chairman wished all the students a safe journey back home saying he does not want the students to be victims of their actions. But there is another union, Congress of Nigerian Universities Academic (CONUA) they said they are not going on strike that still lectures continue.

CONUA has close to 70 per cent of OAU lecturers and they are also close to the Vice Chancellor of the university and the VC does not want the university to shut down. Now, students are in school, some lectures are holding and some are not''.

Recall that on Sunday, November 45, 2018, the president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi declared an indefinite nationwide strike following the union's NEC meeting at the Federal University of Technology, Akure.